Vodka
by Soyna
Summary: Rufus gets a crappy present from Reno on his birthday that brings up some bad memories of his seventeenth ... because he can't remember the good.  Reno offers to jog his memory.


**Birthday Present for BassGuitarGirl**

**Vodka **

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><p><strong>By<strong>:Albedosreqium / Soyna

**Setting: **Crisis Coreish

**Rating, Genre and Warnings: **PG. Angst again.

**Characters: **Reno, Tseng and Rufus.

**Disclaimer: **All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted by the almighty Square Enix©. I do not profit from this endeavour.

**Summary and Additional Information: **

_Wanted to cheer up my crazy girl for her birthday… so here is a quick story about what Reno would get Rufus for his 18__th__ birthday. Turned out serious… what the hell is that about?_

_Rufus gets a present from Reno for his eighteenth birthday that reminds him of his seventeenth birthday... if he remembered his seventeenth birthday._

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><p>The small gift bag that was on Rufus' desk confused him. It was a red bag that was plain with white tissue paper sticking out of the top. It was about the size of a book and looked very intimidating.<p>

His birthday was over. It was last week. There had been a huge party where he had a million gifts thrown at him. Most of which were from people he didn't know or cared about. All giving him trinkets that were useless or stuff that he already had, trying to make an impression on him.

The party was for his eighteenth birthday and it was more of a show for his father than a celebration for himself.

He knew maybe three people there, if he didn't count the Shin-Ra executive members. The only thing nice that he got out of the night was a gift from Reeve. It was a small robotic version of Dark Nation. It was a cute little robot that he kept on his kitchen table, and it would fetch him pepper or a toothpick when he requested it.

Dark Nation didn't like it but it made it all the more amusing as she would constantly knock the small robot off the table with her tentacle whenever she thought he wasn't looking.

This gift in front of him had Reno written all over it. Literally. On the side of the bag where the words scribbled, 'For Bratty Bossman' on the top, and scrawled on the bottom, 'I know I'm a couple days late, but better late than never. Reno', written with a thick black marker.

Rufus would have to get him out of that habit of calling him a brat.

He took a deep breath and tugged at the paper, gently trying to pull it out. The paper didn't move. It was wrapped around something. He sighed as he reached into the bag cautiously and felt something glass and long inside. He was no longer cautious as he grabbed the neck of the bottle and pulled it out of the bag.

It was a half-empty bottle of cheap vodka that he remembered tasting like shit. He sat back in his chair and put the spirit in the middle of his blotter on his desk. He swallowed hard as he looked at it.

He remembered it.

Reno had put it in his hand on his seventeenth birthday. He could barely hold it at the time, as he was still shaking so hard. The Turks had taken him to the nearest hotel they could get to to clean him up and deal with the aftermath of his rescue from some thug's warehouse.

"I'm not old enough to drink," Rufus remembered saying as he held the bottle in his shaking hands. It was already open and he remembered that it smelled awful. He had not much experience drinking before then, but he did remember people saying that vodka was not supposed to have a smell.

Reno had wrapped his hand around his and made sure he was holding the bottle snugly. "You were kidnapped, hog-tied and shot. You're old enough to tie one on, yo," Reno said. "You look like ya need it, to boot."

He had rasied the bottle to his lips and remembered having to hold his breath because of how horrible it smelled. The taste was not an improvement; it burned his throat and made him cough. He nearly tore the new stitches that Tseng had just put in his ribs. Reno patted his back, took the bottle from his hands to take a drink himself. "First drink is always the worst. It gets better."

That was all he remembered until he woke up in the back seat of a limo, wearing his proper clothing, a pounding headache, feeling dehydrated and with his head in Reno's lap.

A very embarrassing situation to be in but one that he didn't dare move from until the car stopped. Even if he hated to admit, Reno's lap was quite comfortable to rest on and not as bony as he thought the redhead would be.

His memory was so muddled and he had asked what had happened, but all he got was a car full of people giving him knowing looks. He really didn't like it. He didn't like the fact that Reno indulged himself in running his hand through his hair and winking at him.

He didn't like that at all because he wanted him to do it again. Instead, he pushed Reno away and demanded again to know what happened. The limo door opened so he never got an answer as he had to deal with his father.

He remembered how badly his head hurt as he listened to his father roar — not yell — roar at him about being an irresponsible little brat that had to take on more responsiblity for his actions. He thought it was over when his father turned to Reno and told him that he was demoted.

He had been too stunned to say anything. He almost told them that he had been in the clutches of one of _his_ business partners that wanted to make himself a better deal with his blood. He was tempted to show the rope burns on his wrist to get him to shut up about it and deal with the real issues.

The shake of Tseng's head stopped him though. Reno called his father an asshole and was promptly kicked out of the room by some other Turks. He had to deal with an even longer lecture from his father and was told that he was disappointed in him and that he expected more.

He was escorted out of the room by Tseng and taken to his nearby office where he promptly threw up, sat on the floor of his bathroom and demanded Tseng tell him what had happened after he took the bottle.

Tseng forced him to take off his shirt and the head of the Turks inspected his various wounds instead.

He never got an answer and he was too ill and weak to get one out of him at that moment. He spent a week in bed recovering from his 'birthday binge' before he was well enough to get back to work.

There was no mention of the kidnapping to the public or his father. It was written off as a teenage rebellion.

Every time he asked he got a long detailed explanation of how they rescued him and dealt with the men that had captured him. He got an even more detailed explanation of how they healed his wounds down to the type of thread that was used to sew him up. He did not get the explanation for what happened after he started to drink the vodka.

The only thing he did know was the young moron that allowed the opportunity for kidnapping had been 'retired' before they had left the hotel room, so all the blame fell to Reno.

Reno took the blame for letting him go on a birthday drinking binge that never happened. He was publicly humiliated and Rufus did not like that. Reno didn't deserve to be demoted for the puzzling mess that was created out of the whole incident. Reno had been the one that cut the ropes off him, carry him out of the damn hole that he was thrust into, and if anything he deserved a promotion.

He understood why the kidnapping had to be kept secret while the Turks did their investigation on the men and their affiliations with terrorist organizations. He was told how that was dealt with even if he didn't understand why it had to be hidden from his father.

He didn't like the fact that Reno was turned into a grunt over the whole thing and he hated it even more that no one was telling him what the hell happened after he took that first drink. No matter how he threatened, demanded or raged, Rufus could not get a straight answer out of Tseng or anyone else that had been there. He raged over it a few times and Tseng would just sit and listen to him and wait until he exhausted himself.

Rufus would get a look that could be described as amused. "It's not my place to say."

And the fact that Reno was not allowed near him for at least six months didn't help the matter.

And the redheaded bastard wouldn't tell him either. "You were an amusin' brat, Bossman," Reno would say.

"Quit calling me a brat," he would tell the idiot and then would order a proper answer.

"It didn't take much ta get ya drunk, Bossman," Reno said. "You were so out of it, yo."

"That doesn't tell me what happened!" He was fuming at how he would always be so casual about it. "You may get drunk and not remember your nights on a regular basis but this is not a common occurrence with me."

Reno would laugh it off and he would get nothing more out of him. It was exceedingly frustrating and he had stopped asking, but he still listened to try to figure things out. He wished Turks were more of a gossip than they were. He may have figured out what he had done that would cause Reno to smile at him like that or Tseng to smirk at him when he said something that was apparently amusing.

He kept Reno close to him after that and tried at every opportunity to ask him but got nothing out of the situation. Reno didn't seem to mind being near him the whole time, and Rufus did find that he was enjoying the extra attention that Reno gave him.

He hated to admit it though; he was not used to being dependant on a person and having Reno constantly at his side, even if he wouldn't say a damn thing to him that he wanted to hear, was … comforting.

He looked back to the bottle that was his birthday present from Reno. He could see the bloody handprint that he had left behind; old and dried brown blood that stained the clear glass of the rot gut.

Reno had kept it.

Why?

There was a knock at the door and it opened before he could tell the person to come in. It was Tseng that approached his desk. He could see the dark eyes go to the bag that was tipped over and the half-empty bottle of vodka sitting on display.

"Do you remember that bottle?"

Rufus nodded. "I didn't think that Reno was capable of not drinking booze that is within his reach."

Tseng snorted. "Well, he does hold some surprises."

"What the hell is this supposed to mean anyway? I remember this stuff tasting like shit. And he didn't even have the decency to get me a new bottle but one that has my old blood on it."

Rufus found himself glaring at the bottle much against his will.

"You really don't remember anything about that night," Tseng said and stood staring at him with that stupidly amused look on his face.

"I wouldn't have asked if I remembered, would I?" Rufus glared at him as well. "Are you ever going to tell me what was so damn amusing?"

"You should finish opening your gift," Tseng said and righted the bag, pulled out the tissue paper and threw it to the side. He then handed him the bag.

Rufus furrowed his brow as he took the bag and saw nothing. He raised an eyebrow to Tseng who was looking at him impassively. He looked again and saw that there was something written on the inside of the bag. He ripped the side and read the note that Reno had obviously scribbled there.

'Want to finish it now?'

He stared at the message for a few moments. He really wished he knew what happened that night and wished people would just tell him already.

"He's waiting for an answer," Tseng said.

Rufus put the torn bag back down on his desk. "That stuff was shit. Why would I want to finish it?" And thinking about drinking it was making him ill.

"Reno does have the tastes for the most potent and vile liquors," Tseng said, "But that is not to what he is referring."

"What kind of answer is he looking for then? What else can he be referring to?" Rufus said. "Why would he send this crappy present?" He turned his attention back to the bottle and glared at it as he was extremely annoyed at this game. "And since you assholes won't tell me what the hell happened for the rest of the evening, I have no idea how I'm supposed to answer."

"You just about died that night," Tseng said. Rufus turned his gaze to him and saw that Tseng had a serious look on his face. "Those men were going to send pieces of you to your father and they were going to kill you even if they got their way. Do you remember them saying that to you?"

"No one would actually dare …"

"They shot you when we tried to rescue you instead of just cutting off one of your fingers. They wanted you to die and that was all there was to it. Those bruises that they gave you on your ribs was a contest to see who was the first to break one of them." Tseng was curt. "You do remember that part, don't you?"

He just stared at Tseng. He did remember something of the sort and the shoes that took turns kicking his chest.

"Did you remember Reno curing your ribs? Untying you? Pulling you out of that room? Carrying you to the hotel?" Tseng tapped the desk. "You were a mess, shaking, scared and acting very much like a human for a change."

Rufus looked back at the bottle. He remembered some of it. He remembered fingers digging out the bullet that was in his shoulder and how he clung to Reno while Tseng was doing it. He wished he could forget that part of the night.

"They would have killed me," Rufus said.

"Yes."

Rufus frowned. "But that didn't happen. You and Reno showed up and pulled me out of there."

"Yes, we did," Tseng said. "You didn't stop shaking until Reno put that bottle in your hands."

He didn't remember being scared but he had learned long ago that he had to push his feelings aside and move forward. He wasn't allowed to have emotions because it was a sign of weakness.

He didn't like being weak; that day he had been the weakest he had ever felt.

"What happened after I started to drink, Tseng?" Rufus was hoping for some answers this time.

Tseng just stood there silently for a moment as though he were contemplating his words. Tseng was always careful with his words and it was infuriating how he could twist them to his own needs at time. He watched Tseng's demure change; his head tilted and an amused glimmer appear in his eyes. "Reno took care of you."

He waited for more, yet got nothing but an ever increasing amused look from Tseng. He grew slightly annoyed that he was not told what the hell happened and was tired of being left out when everyone else knew.

"I will take care of Dark Nation tonight," Tseng said. "Reno is waiting to escort you home."

"That was hardly an answer. How did he 'take care of me'?" Rufus said, pulling the bottle of vodka into his lap. He opened the lid and took a smell of the vile liquid and cringed before he closed it again. "I can't believe I drank this shit."

Tseng moved forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "We took care of you. We made sure you were washed, dressed, healed and had a shoulder to cry on," Tseng said. "Reno did it all for you."

Rufus wrinkled his nose. "I do not cry," he protested.

"As much as you would like to think that you are beyond that, nearly dying and drinking made you quite human for the night," Tseng said, and then with a smile that he would seldom see grace his normally stoic face, he said, "and a little grabby."

Rufus wrinkled his nose up at Tseng.

"Don't be preposterous!" The look on Tseng's face told him that he was serious. "Grabby? With who?" He knew who it was as soon as he got it out of his mouth.

He always was attracted to Reno but he would do no more than look at him. He was not allowed to be attracted to men and he was not allowed to indulge in those personal feelings. He wondered if he had noticed his looks in the past. He thought he had always caught himself before anyone noticed.

It was one of the reasons why Rufus liked having Reno around. He was nice to look at, even if he was a bit brash with his attitude. Obviously, the booze must have changed the normal lines that he never would have crossed otherwise.

"It was quite adorable actually." Tseng said. "Reno was a little insulted that you didn't remember. He's hoping that you will be able to revisit the evening, now that there isn't going to be an audience in the room as well."

Rufus gripped the bottle tighter and grit his teeth together. Obviously it had been something scandalous from his tone. That was not acceptable. "What did I do?"

Tseng chuckled and as much as it was strange to hear the man laugh, it was a very annoying sound. "Nothing too embarrassing. A lot of 'I love you man' type antics. You sat in Reno's lap and you two made out. You complained about your stitches, your father, puked your guts out and fell asleep on Reno with your hand in his hair. He was in his glory and you seemed to be enjoying yourself as well."

Rufus closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He acted … like a teenager.

"I don't …" Rufus' voice trailed off.

"He's not really upset at you for not remembering. He did hand you the bottle to begin with," Tseng said. Rufus opened his eyes and looked up at the head of the Turks. "Now, quit fretting over it and I shall escort you to the car."

"I was drunk. Why would I want to indulge in that activity again?"

"You can drop the Ice Prince act, Rufus. You confessed your crush to him after you stuck your tongue down his throat. You tried to strip him right there. I could embarrass you with more details if you'd like. You did quite like running your hand through his hair and chewing on his throat."

Rufus did remember seeing bruises on Reno's throat as the redhead was yelling at his father. He didn't think anything of them as he thought Reno got them from rescuing him. He didn't think he was the direct cause of them.

Well, he knew differently now.

Rufus was alarmed at the stark details as he looked at Tseng. "You were drunk, scared and feeling very vulnerable. You can chalk it up to being rescued by him if you want but you had no desire to sit in my lap and play with my hair."

"I think I would have remembered 'making out' with Reno." Rufus snorted as he looked at the bottle in his lap.

"There is no shame in letting yourself be human from time to time," Tseng said.

Rufus sat for a moment and digested the words. He was supposed to be beyond that. He was raised to take over the world and he needed to be more than human to have such goals.

And there was Reno. He didn't tell him either. Rufus did think that he was around a little longer and sat a little closer than he used to, once he was allowed near him again. He never pushed himself on him in any way, but he had been there.

That was more than most people did.

And from the note, Reno obviously wanted another chance.

Rufus wondered if he wanted that as well as he gripped the bottle tightly in his hand. "I don't want to forget this time."

"Then don't drink from that bottle." Tseng reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, glancing at his screen. "He's getting worried that you are not interested. Are you interested or not?"

Rufus looked at the scribbled note and then the bottle. He did remember how tender Reno's hand was and how soft his lap was with his pounding headache that threatened to split his head apart. Reno had taken care of him through the whole ordeal.

"I don't know," he whispered. "Father won't approve."

"You're eighteen now. Does that matter anymore?"

Rufus found himself standing and smiling at Tseng. "Has it really ever truly mattered?"

Tseng nodded, took a step back and let Rufus walk past him. Rufus held the bottle tightly as he walked out the door, Tseng a couple steps behind him.

He went to the limo that was waiting to transport him to his condo. Reno was standing there holding the leash of Dark Nation and was missing a shoe; a shoe that was currently in between Dark Nations feet and being chewed on.

He couldn't help but smile at the one socked foot and the annoyed look on Reno's face. "Took ya long enough, yo," Reno said. "Your mutt got hungry."

"I can see," Rufus said.

Dark Nation looked quite content as she looked up, still holding the black loafer in her mouth and gave a small bark that she was acknowledging him before putting it back down and chewing it with vigour.

"You owe me a new pair," Reno said but he didn't look as annoyed as before and his eyes were on the bottle in his hand.

"I am sure it will be arranged," Rufus said as he looked to Tseng who just gave him a nod.

"So, do ya like your birthday present?"

Rufus could see the tension in Reno's body as his smile was not as large as it normally was, and worry was written in his eyes. He was always so expressive and open with his emotions.

Maybe that was one of the reasons that he liked to have him around.

"A half-empty bottle of vodka is an unusual present," Rufus said and was hesitant to get too close. He didn't like feeling uncertain of his next actions. He was always certain about things and this was strange new ground for him.

"Re-gifting at its finest, yo," Reno said and the smile slipped after he spoke, his voice not as smug as it normally was. "Limo is stocked with better stuff. We can go ta dinner too if yer hungry." Reno took a staggered step forward, walking awkwardly with only one shoe. He swallowed and ran his hand through his hair. "Or I can just take ya home." His voice was thick with worry and so unlike the Reno that he was used to.

Rufus felt a little awkward as well. He wasn't sure what to do. This was very strange for him. He always liked Reno and he always liked how he was decisive and smart. He was always so sure of himself and it was almost cute to see him acting like this.

"Why, Reno, I think you are trying to ask me out."

Reno's cheeks flared red and the look was very becoming. He opened his mouth and some incoherent sounds of protest came out of him.

Tseng walked in front of them and took the leash from Reno's hand. "Have a good night, gentlemen." Tseng pulled on the leash and Dark Nation obediently stood, still carrying the shoe in her mouth as they walked away.

Rufus ran his fingers over the bloody thumb print on the bottle before he focused on Reno. "I really don't remember what happened that night, and it seems that it was this swill's fault." He had to force himself to stay looking up as he spoke the next part. "I'm beginning to really regret not remembering. As I understand it, I stuffed my tongue down your throat and behaved like a vampire."

He kept his eyes focused on Reno as he spoke. He wanted to see his reaction.

"Yer quite a kisser, Boss," Reno said with that spark back in his eyes.

"I don't remember."

"We can go over that again, yo."

Rufus tried to find the right words for how silly and out of control he felt. He really didn't like being out of control. He looked down at the bottle again as he could no longer hold the redhead's gaze.

There was a moment of silence between them and he could feel the tension in the air that he normally lived for, but this time he wished it would go away.

He observed one shiny black shoe and the dirty white sock that was near his own brown shoes.

"I don't mind going over it again," Reno said and reached over with his gloved hand and rested it against his fingers that were holding the bottle. "Except for the puking part, I can do without that, yo."

It was Rufus' turn to blush and he looked up to see that Reno was right in front of him. He could see all the detail in his blue-green eyes and it made his breath quicken and his heart flutter. He supposed this was what a crush felt like.

"I would much appreciate a better present than a half-empty bottle of vodka for my birthday. And the bottle is still covered in my blood. That is a little cheap of you," Rufus complained and watched Reno roll his expressive eyes.

"Are you gonna be bitchy 'bout things like this all the time?"

"Do you expect me to change?"

Reno's smile grew and he moved to put one arm around his shoulder and grabbed the bottle with the other as he ushered him to the limo. "Nah. Was hoping to get ya a little drunk."

They approached the limo and Rufus stopped and waited for the door to be opened for him. "I don't think I ever want to drink that stuff again," Rufus said as Reno removed his arm around him to open the door.

"Don't blame ya," Reno said. Rufus entered the limo and Reno followed closely behind him. "Even though you were an adorable drunk, yo."

"Don't push your luck, Reno," Rufus said as he seated himself.

"Whatever ya say, Bossman." Reno slipped beside him and tapped the glass to get the limo to go. He leaned back in the seat beside him. "I think we should start with showing ya how yer were demonstratin' how you liked to stick your tongue down my throat and see where we go from there."

Rufus frowned. "I think I would like to have dinner first."

"Oh, ya wanna be wined and dined, eh?"

"Wine would be much more preferable than this horrid stuff," Rufus said and thrust the bottle at Reno.

"Sure thing, Boss."

"And if you expect me to 'stick my tongue down your throat' I think you should call me by my name." Rufus watched as Reno opened the bottle of vodka and took a sip out of it.

"Anythin' ya say, Rufus. It's your birthday," Reno said.

"And I do expect a better present by the end of the evening."

Reno smirked. "Got somethin' in mind, but yer gonna have to deal with the fact that I ain't no new model or anythin'."

"You're full of yourself."

"Hoping that it'll be you at the end of the night." Reno smirked.

Rufus raised an eyebrow and then looked at the bottle that was in Reno's hand. He was wondering if this was a wise idea to do this sober. Reno held out the bottle to him and Rufus took it back and gulped the horrid liquid.

He felt that he was going to need it to survive this evening. He coughed and sputtered at the taste and Reno patted his back. "Is that bringin' back some of yer memories?"

It didn't. "I think I need a little more than this disgusting swill to jog my memory."

The look he received from Reno could only be described as mischievous. He was certain that Reno would be trying a few things to jog his memory, and Rufus was looking forward to it.

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><p><em><strong>Happy birthday BassGuitarGirlVietta! **_


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